- •Crooner
- •I told him I didn’t want to impose, but there was now something gently insistent about Mr. Gardner. “No, no, sit down. Your mother liked my records, you were saying.”
- •I thought he wasn’t going to answer. In the dim light, his figure was just this hunched-up shape at the front of the boat. But as Vittorio was tying the rope, he said quietly:
- •Vittorio had stepped up onto the quay, but Mr. Gardner and I kept sitting in the darkness. I was waiting for him to say more, and sure enough, after a moment, he went on:
- •Come rain or come shine
- •I couldn’t remember the last time Charlie had asked my help for anything, but I managed a casual nod and waited. He played with his menu for a few seconds, then put it down.
- •I have to admit I was rather moved by this. All the same, I could see there was something not quite right here, something he wasn’t telling me.
- •I went up to him and said: “Charlie, I don’t think it’s going to work.”
- •I decided it might be best not to respond this time, and for a few moments we waited quietly for the kettle to boil. She prepared a cup for me, though not for herself, and placed it in front of me.
- •I should have thought of this before. How much time do you have left?”
- •I reached down to the fallen standard lamp, but Emily restrained me.
- •I wasn’t sure if Emily’s puzzled look was due to what I was saying, or still left over from gazing at the saucepan. She sat down next to me and thought for a moment.
- •I felt a sharp tug on my shoulder.
- •Malvern hills
- •I waited for him to sense what he’d walked into, but if he noticed, he showed no sign of taking it into account. He smiled at his wife and said, presumably for our benefit in English:
- •I leant over the strings and practised another little phrase to myself, and for a few seconds nobody spoke. Then I asked: “So what sort of music do you guys play?”
- •I stared at Maggie, for a moment quite speechless. Then I said: “You’re talking such rubbish. Why are you talking such rubbish?”
- •Nocturne
- •In answer to her question, I told her the toughest part for me was not being able to play my sax.
- •I had to reassure her some more that I’d had a good time and that I’d come back. Then as I was going out the door, she said:
- •I did calm down then for a while, and I gave a brief account of how Lindy had asked me over, and the way things had gone.
- •I looked at the board, trying to remember where we were. After a while, I asked gently: “Maybe that particular song, it has special associations for you?”
- •I didn’t know what to say, and before I could think of anything she was talking again.
- •I sat down on my usual sofa and watched her fussing with the hi-fi. The lighting in the room was soft, and the air felt pleasantly cool. Then “The Nearness of You” came on at high volume.
- •I was puzzled, but got to my feet. As I went to her, she pulled off the handkerchief and held towards me a shiny brass ornament.
- •I wandered further into the room and threw the torch beam around some more. “Maybe this is where it’s going to happen. Where they’re going to give Jake his award.”
- •It occurred to me I was losing my grip. I said quickly: “Okay, I’m out of line. I’m sorry. Now let’s go find this office.”
- •I felt the soft material of Lindy’s night-gown brush against my back. Then she’d taken my arm and we were standing side by side.
- •I could sense the security guard shift behind us.
- •I tugged at Lindy, but she seemed now to be seized by the oft-cited mania of criminals to flirt with being caught.
- •In the centre of the room was a bulky shape with a sheet draped completely over it. Lindy went to it like it was an old friend and flopped down tiredly.
- •I went up to the first dome and carefully raised it. Sure enough, there was a fat roast turkey sitting there. I searched out its cavity and inserted a finger.
- •I stopped and she didn’t say anything for a long time. Then she said:
- •Cellists
- •It was unusually warm that afternoon. He’d come to the hotel as usual, and begun to play for her some new pieces he’d been preparing. But after barely three minutes, she made him stop, saying:
I was puzzled, but got to my feet. As I went to her, she pulled off the handkerchief and held towards me a shiny brass ornament.
“You thoroughly deserve this. So it’s yours. Jazz Musician of the Year. Maybe of all time. Congratulations.”
She placed it in my hands and kissed me lightly on the cheek through the cr
“Well, thanks. This is a surprise. Hey, this looks pretty. What is it? An alligator?”
“An alligator? Come on! It’s a pair of cute little cherubs kissing each other.”
“Oh yeah, I can see it now. Well, thanks, Lindy. I don’t know what to say. It’s really beautiful.”
“An alligator!”
“I’m sorry. It’s just the way this guy has his leg stretched all the way out. But I see now. It’s really beautiful.”
“Well, it’s yours. You deserve it.”
“I’m touched, Lindy. I really am. And what does this say down here? I don’t have my glasses.”
“It says ‘Jazz Musician of the Year.’ What else would it say?”
“That’s what it says?”
“Sure, that’s what it says.”
I went back to the sofa, holding the statuette, sat down and thought a little. “Say, Lindy,” I said eventually. “This item you’ve just given me. It’s not possible, is it, you came across it on one of your midnight walks?”
“Sure. Sure it’s possible.”
“I see. And it’s not possible, is it, this is the real award? I mean the actual gong they were going to hand to Jake?”
Lindy didn’t reply for a few seconds, but kept standing there very still. Then she said:
“Of course it’s the real thing. What would be the point, giving you any old junk? There was an injustice about to be committed, but now justice has prevailed. That’s all that matters. Hey, sweetie, come on. You know you’re the one who deserves this award.”
“I appreciate your viewpoint. It’s just that… well, this is kind of like stealing.”
“Stealing? Didn’t you say yourself this guy’s no good? A fake? And you’re a genius. Who’s trying to steal from who here?”
“Lindy, where exactly did you come across this thing?”
She shrugged. “Just some place. One of the places I go. An office, you’d call it maybe.”
“Tonight? You picked it up tonight?”
“Of course I picked it up tonight. I didn’t know about your award last night.”
“Sure, sure. So that was an hour ago, would you say?”
“An hour. Maybe two hours. Who knows? I was out there some time. I went to my presidential suite for a while.”
“Jesus.”
“Look, who cares? What are you so worried about? They lose this one, they can just go get another one. They’ve probably got a closet full somewhere. I presented you with something you deserve. You’re not going to turn it down, are you, Steve?”
“I’m not turning it down, Lindy. The sentiment, the honor, all of that, I accept it all, I’m really happy about it. But this, the actual trophy. We’re going to have to take it back. We’ll have to put it back exactly where you found it.”
“Screw them! Who cares?”
“Lindy, you haven’t thought this through. What will you do when this gets out? Can you imagine what the press will do with this? The gossip, the scandal? What will your public say? Now come on. We’re going out there right now before people start waking up. You’re going to show me exactly where you found this thing.”
She suddenly looked like a kid who’d been scolded. Then she sighed and said: “I guess you’re right, sweetie.”
ONCE WE’D AGREED to take it back, Lindy became quite possessive about the award, holding it close to her bosom all the time we hurried through the passageways of the vast, sleeping hotel. She led the way down hidden stairways, along back corridors, past sauna rooms and vending machines. We didn’t see or hear a soul. Then Lindy whispered: “It was this way,” and we pushed through heavy doors into a dark space.
Once I was sure we were alone, I switched on the flashlight I’d brought from Lindy’s room and shone it around. We were in the ballroom, though if you were looking to dance just then, you’d have had trouble with all the dining tables, each one with its white linen cover and matching chairs. The ceiling had a fancy central chandelier. At the far end there was a raised stage, probably large enough to put on a fair-sized show, though right now the curtains were drawn across it. Someone had left a step-ladder in the middle of the room and an upright vacuum cleaner against the wall.
“It’s going to be some party,” she said. “Four hundred, five hundred people?”